By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

There is no wall, no barrier, when it comes to a person’s ability to partake in the creative process.

But, there is a wall — the Yellow Wall, where artwork can be displayed.

The Yellow Wall is located in the Resource Room (where the computers are set up) of the Bridgton Public Library.

This month, the art being displayed was done by the folks who live at Bella Point Bridgton. The residents’ artwork will be on display now through the end of March.

The pieces of art that are hanging on the library’s wall are aesthetic and also represent the sense of pride that comes from accomplishment, according to Bella Point’s Activities Director Kathie Watson.

“It’s good for the morale to turn out something beautiful, Watson said. 

Taking part in art projects is good for the fine motor skills, she said. Plus, doing art is a lot of fun for the residents, she said.

“When we do arts and crafts, all we hear is laughter. All up and down the halls is laughter,” Watson said. 

Watson is the self-proclaimed ‘Queen of Pinterest,’ and is constantly looking for new types of art projects to introduce at Bella Point.

“We try to do all kinds of arts, all kinds of mediums,” she said.

Resident Rose Pierce prefers colored pencils but she is game to try almost any medium.

“I color all the time. It gives me something to do,” Pierce said. “Give me a coloring book and some colored pencils, and I’ll stay busy.”

She loves to color, paint and do jigsaw puzzles. Typically, she works on puzzles with 1,000 pieces or more. Pierce looks forward to the arts-and-crafts time and isn’t picky about the project.

“I just do whatever they put out,” she said.

Watson agreed.

“Yep, Rose is sitting at the table and waiting” for the arts and crafts time to start, Watson said.

Joanne Desimone is another resident who contributed to the Yellow Wall.

Desimone said that she loves to paint and color because it relaxes her. Simply put, creating art is something that she loves to do.

Pierce said that her children were more excited about her art being displayed than she was. One of her daughters plans to pop into the library and see it, she said.

Resident Alice Anderson said, “it feels great” to have her paintings on display for the public to see.

“I think it’s great. Why not?” Anderson asked.

Watson explained how Bella Point got involved with the Yellow Wall.

“I am a patron of the library. I love the library. I come in here a lot. One day, I was using a computer and I noticed the art on the wall. I asked someone at the front desk, ‘How does this work? Do the artists have to be well-known?’ They said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘I’ve got some great artists at Bella Point,’ ” Watson said.

“They gave us the wall,” she said.

Betsy Morris, a member of Friends of the Bridgton Public Library, is in charge of the Yellow Wall Gallery.

“This is such a statement to the creative spirit,” Morris said, of the current display.

Morris provided the back story of how they came about about naming it. At the time, the concept of displaying the artwork of local, nonprofessional artists on a wall at the library was only an idea. Morris was traveling with another member of Friends of the Library.

“We were traveling through North Carolina, and our vehicle broke down in a small town. So — like most people do when their car breaks down in a small town, we went to a coffee shop. On one of the walls of coffee shop, there was art displayed by local people. It was called the Red Wall. We said, ‘There it is. Let’s call ours the Yellow Wall,’ ” Morris said.

“I had been dreaming about an art wall since 2016. The first exhibit went up in 2017. We rotate every three months,” Morris said.

Interested artists should submit an exhibit application to the Bridgton Public Library Art Project Coordinator. A person can get the application either by picking one up at the Bridgton library or by downloading it from the website,a bridgtonlibrary.org